Swapped Boko Haram members appear in new video

Boko Haram yesterday released the video of five “commanders” that were reportedly released by Nigerian authorities on Saturday, May 6 in exchange for 82 Chibok schools girls.

All the five insurgents shown in the six minutes 30 seconds video dressed in full military fatigues, alighted from a Hilux vehicle mounted with a machine gun.

The man claimed he was Abu Dardaa, saying he was arrested by Nigerian security forces in Gombe State, taken into custody alongside many of his “brethren” but set free for the exchange of the Chibok girls.

A credible source said all the five could not be said to be “commanders in the true sense of the matter.”

According to him, “They’re members at the time of their arrest and that’s all. They cannot pose serious threat and after all, they may be doing what they’re doing for propaganda sake; to show they still wield influence,” he said.

“I’m Dardaa, popularly known as ‘moni,’ who was arrested by the infidels after detonating explosives. I’m now fully back in Sambisa living with my brethren. It’s the same place you claimed you’ve taken over,” the man who spoke on behalf of the remaining four, said.

‘Mere propaganda’

Responding to the video, spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Sani Usman Kukasheka has dismissed the video as a mere propaganda, whil confirming that indeed one of the men featured in it was part of the exchange programme with the Chibok girls.

A statement issued on Saturday by the Army, said the threats issued by the terrorist should not be taken seriously as it is merely an attempt to seek relevance and attention as he has lost touch with realities on ground after years of incaceration.

“As you are all aware, he was a direct beneficiary of the process that led to the release of 82 of the abducted girls, and does not have a say or capacity to do anything, therefore his threats should be ignored,” Usman said.

While dimissing the threats, Usman said, “We would like to assure the public that the Nigerian Army is totally committed to the Federal Government’s determined efforts of rescuing all abducted persons and peace in the country.”

He said the army will not relent on clearing remnants of Boko Haram terrorists through the ongoing operations with the support of the Nigerian Air Force which has been carrying out air raids, while other security agencies are equally doing their best.

“We wish to solicit more support, cooperation and understanding from the public, particularly members of the press,” he said.

“We should not give in to terrorists’ propaganda and empty threats. We have come to a very critical stage of the fight against terrorism and insurgency in Nigeria that require more patriotism and security consciousness by all and sundry.

“Gone were the days when people glamorize terrorists and their criminal acts,” the Army statement said.

Chibok girl ‘unwilling’ to return

Also, another video released by the Boko Haram yesterday showed four of the girls taken away from GGSS Chibok, who were among those that purportedly said they would not return to their families.

A man who spoke from the background, had a short conversation with one of the girls, Maida Yakubu, who spoke in Hausa and later in her local Chibok dialect.

The short conversation went thus:

Man: Who’re you?

Chibok girl: I’m Maida Yakubu

Man: You’re from where?

Girl: Chibok

Man: What’s the name of your parents?

Girl: My mother is Esther Mutari and my father is Yakubu Kawu

Man: You’re from which school?

Girl: GGSS Chibok

Man: Why did you decide not to go back to your parents?

Girl: It’s because they live in the town of unbelievers; I want them to accept Islam and join us in worship so as to have peace in the hereafter.

Man: Is it true that we forced you to get married here?

Girl: No, it is not true. The marriage was consensual. Those who are not willing to get married were not forced.

Man: What message do you have for your parents?

Girl: They should simply accept Islam in order to have salvation.

Man: And what call do you’ve for Nigerians?

Girl: They should accept the Qur’an and prophetic traditions; that’s the only way out for them.

Analysis of previous clips that showed the Chibok girls revealed that Maida Yakubu was the same girl who spoke on August 14, 2016 pleading with Nigerian authorities to do the biddings of the Boko Haram so that they could be freed.

In that video, then spokesman of the Boko Haram, Abu Zinnira, whose real name is ‘Tasiu,’ said the girls will never be freed until all their (Boko Haram) members in custody of the Nigerian authorities were freed.

Abu Zinnira was later reportedly killed sometime before December, last year by Abubakar Shekau over “leadership tussle.”

It is believed that Abu Zinnira is the militant who always featured in videos of the Chibok girls that Boko Haram has made public since the abduction in 2014. He was dressed in military fatigue.

After killing Abu Zinnira, Shekau released an audio in February this year justifying his action.

“You should hear me: I killed Tasiu, hear me well,” he told the gathering in Hausa, saying the meeting was held on December 18, 2016 in order to talk to “those elements grumbling over the killing of Tasiu.”

The Boko Haram has splintered with one faction controlled by Shekau and the other by Mamman Nur, who normally parades Abu Musab Al-Barnawi as leader. Al-Barnawi is the son of Mohammed Yusuf, the founder of Boko Haram, who was killed in Maiduguri in the 2009 uprising of the sect.

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